Peterson told the Star-Tribune that he is optimistic about his chances of winning the MVP, although he acknowledged that in a passing league, it’s hard for a running back to top a quarterback.

“The MVP, man, that’s something that I’ve always wanted to grab. I work hard. I want to be the best player to play this game, so with that, MVP awards come,” Peterson said. “But I know this league and how it is, man. They’re kind of biased to the quarterback, which is unfortunate. They make it hard for other players to win it, but I will.”

Peterson is right that it’s hard for a running back to win the MVP award, even if he reaches 2,000 yards, as Peterson has a chance of doing. In fact, in two of Peyton Manning’s MVP seasons, he beat out a 2,000-yard running back: Jamal Lewis in 2003 and Chris Johnson in 2009. And Dickerson didn’t win the MVP when he ran for 2,105 yards in 1984; Dan Marino won the award for breaking the NFL’s single-season passing mark the same year.

With both Manning and Tom Brady having strong seasons this year, Peterson would seem to be a long shot to win the award this year. But if Peterson were to break Dickerson’s record while leading the Vikings to the playoffs, that might be enough to make Peterson the first running back to win MVP since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006.

i think its more than a three man race for mvp. although i may be biased, i think if RG3 is able to play and win in his last 3 games putting up phenomenal performances, he deserves real consideration here. If that happens, we’re talking about a 7 game win streak with a horrible defense, for a rookie quarterback with the highest passer rating in the nfl and whose presence cannot be understated.

Its not his fault but qb’s are inherently going to be thought of as more valuable than running backs. Peterson should take solace in the fact that he’s even mentioned in the same breath as Manning and Brady, those two have been the faces of the NFL over the past decade and you can make a legit argument that they are the two best quarterbacks in the modern era (certainly both are top 5). Offensive player of the year for him should suffice, but I would still give Manning the Comeback Player of the year and its between him and Brady for MVP for me.

I mean, I love Adrian and I know he works hard and has his personal goals and in my mind he’s having an MVP season, but come on, he’s saying all the wrong things.

Your team is still in the hunt and you’re talking about MVP and rushing records? I mean, he basically is their offense but how about saying “I’m optimistic about my team’s chances of making the playoffs” “The most important stat right now is the W” “I’ll leave that talk for the end of the season” “Right now, I’m focused on our next opponent.”

Being a Viking 4 life since 1968 AP I love you man-but how about a passing game, that will give you your 2100 rushing yards. However I wish you all the luck in the world, but always remember-it’s better to be good than to be lucky and you are all of that and so much more………………………Go AP!!!!!!!!!!!

It is much harder to run the ball than throw it. A QB needs to have leadership and make good decisions. For a RB to gain a yard, he needs to put his body out there and take the punishment. Now a days a QB can throw for 4,000 yards like nothing. For a running back to get to 1,500 is a great season, let alone 2,000! I know that his team is not great and they will, most likely, not make the playoffs but it is no fault of Peterson. Imagine the Vikings without him! They probably wouldn’t have a win this season. He is carrying his team. Brady has one of the best coaches ever and Manning has a pretty good defense to help him out, plus a very weak division to pile up the wins and stats. If Peterson can get to 2,000 he deserves to be the MVP. Less than a year ago it was though he could miss the whole season. Yeah, 2,000 yards rushing less than a year after an injury that could have ended his career…Respect!

as a NINER FAN everytime i see a headline or record set by this guy im SO THANKFUL the cards passed on this guy cant imagine as a fan having to deal with this guy twice a year! the cardinals must be kicking themselves everytime they see highlights of PETERSON! well atleast they drafted a future HALL OF FAMER levi brown ahahahaha what a joke of a franchise

The player should be on a winning team. I am not saying its right, but mvps should be the guy that single handed wins you a bunch of games. At 6-6 and third place in their division he just don’t deserve it. Brady is the choice this year. Hats off to AP, he is remarkable, but so is megatron and he don’t deserve it either.

It would have been nice if Peterson had said something like “I want to win Super Bowl MVP cause then the team has met all of our goals” instead we just hear about how he wants to do all of these individual things, do you think he even knows where the Vikings are in the playoff race?

I’m a big AP fan, but QBs admittedly are the most imprtant player on every team. The MVP deal is much like the Heisman trophy — usually given to QBs. Maybe they should just have separate awards. It’s hard to say that Brady or Manning aren’t more valuable to their respective teams — and both the Broncos and Pats will be in the playoffs, while the Vikes are long shots.

ok guys for real do the math. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning veterans on good teams. they our expected to be good. Andrew Luck a rookie QB and the team that had worst record in league last year. 9-4 this year and counting. Who now is obvious choice for MVP this year

MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. Not Most Valuable Team. It’s not fair to say he doesn’t deserve the award because of the Vikings record. He has been the biggest factor in all of their wins. I’m a Pats fan, and I think that Brady has had an amazing season, but AP deserves the award.

He is the sole reason for their wins. And after suffering that injury, and being as productive as he is, he would get my vote.

You have to take away each player out of the team and then decide how much is would hurt them without that player.

1 without AP – still have good defense & chris ponder at QB
2 PM – still have good defense and when to playoff with terrible Tim Tebow
3) TB – you know Bill Bellichek would make his team decent even without Tom Brady
4 AL – without andrew luck name any good player on defense or offense that would save this team. NONE (half team our rookie nobodies that have potential but still young)

The player who gets MVP should be someone who gives their team an edge on winning. Preferably a player that takes their team to the playoffs, or has a big part in it. Names that come to mind are Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aldon Smith, A.J. Green, Marshawn Lynch and Von Miller. I’d have to say that Peyton Manning has had the most affect on his team’s chances.

The best quarterbacks are almost like offensive coordinators on the field. They’re heavily involved in game planning, read defenses, set protections and call audibles. It’s not biased to say they’re more important than the guy who just takes the handoff.

And what’s the argument for Manning over Brady? Brady’s stats are better, he beat Manning easily head-to-head, and just torched the league’s top defense. Manning plays in the worst division in the NFL and his best win all season is over the Steelers, who might not even make the playoffs.

@andersong0857
When a team tanks a season to get the first pick, you can’t say Luck has made all the difference. He has as many picks as TDs and constantly puts his team in bad positions due to his turnovers. Yeah he has rallied the team back but they were largely in that position due to his performance. No doubt he will be an amazing QB in the future but he’s not MVP this year. It’s Brady’s to lose.

wish it wasn’t termed MVP but rather most outstanding player. QB’s are inherently more valuable to a team than any other position and it the award would be more credible if there was some publicly known measure such as the voters look at performances by position and the degree to which a player stands out among his peers. As great as Manning, Brady, RG3 and Rodgers are, Peterson has been decidedly better at his position. Still 3 games left, let’s see how it shakes out.

skins30
Dec 15, 2012, 12:38 PM PST
i think its more than a three man race for mvp. although i may be biased, i think if RG3 is able to play and win in his last 3 games putting up phenomenal performances, he deserves real consideration here. If that happens, we’re talking about a 7 game win streak with a horrible defense, for a rookie quarterback with the highest passer rating in the nfl and whose presence cannot be understated.

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MVP of your heart maybe. Gotta make the playoffs for him to be even considered.

AP is being asked questions, and sure who wouldn’t want to have the rushing title or MVP? It’s not like he’s calling a press conference and telling everyone these things. AP has the heart of a lion and he puts everything into everything he does. As far as MVP the Broncos were a playoff team with TIM TEBOW at qb and they will be with Peyton Manning. AP does his thing with basically no qb threat and everyone geared to stop him.

come on whoever even thinks that RGIII deserves to get MVP over Andrew Luck is crazy. Everybody thought Colts didnt stand chance to do anything this year. Most projected they would probably have top draft pick again this year. When comparing RGIII they said RGIII would have better record with redskins because they have better players built around him. Hmmm lets see what is record of Redskins and what is record of COlts ????

you can obviously make a case for manning or brady every year because of their consistently amazing play and the gaudy stats they put up at QB these days. That is kinda what makes AP so special though. In a league ruled by QBs AP dominates. He is the only guy out there as a non-qb that does this. Anyone that has seen Ponder play knows how little he contributes. Ponder actually hurts the offense as much as anything. There have been games when the vikes could have performed a direct snap to AP every play and would have had a better chance. If AP carries the vikings to the playoffs I think that will be far more impressive than the feats of Brady or Manning even though they will likely have better records. We are fighting for playoff spot right now. Without AP there is no way we would have won a single game this year.

Dez Bryant is risking permanent damage to his finger/hand to try and make it into the playoffs, AP is just worried about breaking the rushing record and getting the MVP…..and that’s why the vikings are gonna be watching the playoffs from their homes like the rest of us.

That 2,000-yard mark is so elusive I tend to think when a runner achieves that goal, he deserves the MVP honors. But Peterson isn’t there yet. If he doesn’t break the record, the discussion is moot. Second in line would have to be Manning, again because he’s coming back from such a desperate injury without missing a beat.

The NFL is a passing league now. Every rule is to help the passing game that’s why passing stats are what they are now. AP was asked if he’s like to break the record, he didn’t just blurt it out for all to hear. AP is one of the great people in the NFL a great role model.

If Minny snuck into the playoffs then I’d vote for AP for MVP. But I don’t think they will so it will be either Brady or Manning.

One of the reasons that RB’s are being devalued is that even the great RB’s don’t make their team better the way a great QB does. As good as someone like Barry Sanders was individually, he never elevated his team to greatness. The only year that Minny has been any good with AP was the year that Favre had a career year. AP hasn’t been able to carry the team with guys like Tavaris Jackson and Christian Ponder.

On the flip side, you have all these QB’s winning Super Bowls with no name RB’s. Peyton won one with Joseph Addai and another RB that I’ve already forgotten. Rodgers won a SB with James Starks. Brees won one with a RB by committee. Brady won one with Corey Dillon but the other two he won with the immortal Antoine Smith.

That’s why QB’s win so many MVP’s because far more often it’s QB’s that carry mediocre RB’s to championships than vice-versa. When a superstar RB like AP can carry a mediocre QB to a Super Bowl then RB’s will get more respect. Until then they’re just going to have to accept their lot in life.

Brady is MVP at the moment. If Vikings make the playoffs it should go to AD though, if he gets the single season record as well then he’s a shoo-in. Otherwise Brady gets it, Brady has more touchdowns (3 rushing) than Manning, less picks (only 4 all year!), carried a worse defense and has played better defenses (Manning gets 4 games against the Raiders and Chiefs).

Just like 2009 when Drew Brees played better, it will be a travesty if Manning gets the award (they should just name it the Peyton Manning Award at that point).

boy some haters on here, I think jealous also yes he carried the vikings, he also came back from an injury most running backs dont come back from or it takes more time and sometimes they dont play as good as they used to he is in his prime and doing good. I dont care what people say about the vikings at least we are still in the hunt. You cant say yet we are not in the playoffs until we get beat out, yes tomorrow will be a tough game but I have faith in the vikings.

Luck nor RG3 will be considered ( rookies). Sorry AD this is a passers league. That leaves Manning or Brady and I think Manning will edge Brady out for his record 5th trophy that will one day bear his name.

That 2,000-yard mark is so elusive I think when a runner achieves that goal, he deserves the MVP honors. But Peterson isn’t there yet. If he doesn’t break the record, the discussion is moot. Second in line would have to be Manning, again because he’s coming back from such a desperate injury without missing a beat.

MVP no. I find it hard to give that honor to someone who dont even make the playoffs. Since he was hurt in week 16 last yr and missed 1 game i cant see him getting comeback player of the yr either. Now what he has over come is nothing short of unreal. guys not human

I’m seeing all these posts saying that it is a Quarterback that leads a team, but this is a team that is lead by Christian Ponder and by no means is an ideal Quarterback. Adrian Peterson IS this franchise and leads them to every victory they get and most of their losses is due to poor play from their Quarterback. Two weeks ago the Vikings lost to the Packers, the stats are as follows: Christian Ponder, 12/25 119 yards 1 TD 2 INT. Adrian Peterson, 21 Carries 210 yards 1 TD. From those stats I’d say that Ponder had a bigger hand in the loss than Peterson did. Last week the Vikings beat the Bears and the stats was: Ponder, 11/17 91 yards 0 TD 1 INT. Peterson, 31 Carries 154 yards 2 TD. Yes, they beat the Bears by 7 points and the defense had a pick-6, but if not for the efforts of Peterson they wouldn’t of won that game. Peterson is just as deserving of the MVP award as any Quarterback.

You have to take away each player out of the team and then decide how much is would hurt them without that player.

1 without AP – still have good defense & chris ponder at QB
2 PM – still have good defense and when to playoff with terrible Tim Tebow
3) TB – you know Bill Bellichek would make his team decent even without Tom Brady
4 AL – without andrew luck name any good player on defense or offense that would save this team. NONE (half team our rookie nobodies that have potential but still young)

For those who say Pederson puts his goals ahead of being a team player are just flat wrong and don’t have a clue about him as a person. Every reporter covering him in Minnesota says he is the most humble star they have ever seen. Watch any interview with him and he says all he cares about is winning and the team being successful. Don’t rip a guy when you don’t really know what you are talking about, or generalizing. Hell yeah he should want the record. What is wrong with that? As far as the MVP goes? Hands down Pederson over Manning. Vikings had 3 wins last year. They are currently 8 and 6. The Broncos went to the playoffs last year with Tim Tebow. Again, Tim Tebow.